Progress on Transboundary Water Cooperation – 2024 Update

Target 6.5 is: “By 2030, implement integrated water resources management at all levels, including through transboundary cooperation as appropriate.”

Indicator 6.5.2 looks at the area of a country within transboundary basins and assesses the extent to which that area is covered by operational cooperation arrangements. Transboundary basins are river, lake and aquifer systems shared between two or more countries. Arrangements are “operational” when there is a joint body, meetings between countries take place and information is exchanged at least once per year, and joint or coordinated management plans or objectives for the basin(s) have been set.

Transboundary waters are of great significance globally. An estimated 313 rivers and lakes, and 468 aquifers, are shared by two or more countries, and a total of 153 UN Member States are reliant on waters that either flow from or flow to another country. Transboundary rivers alone account for 60 per cent of the world’s freshwater flows, and river and lake basins are home to more than three billion people.

This report presents the global status on transboundary cooperation and acceleration needs to achieve target 6.5 by 2030, based on the latest data on indicator 6.5.2.

The global average of the SDG indicator 6.5.2 value is 59 per cent .This means that, for the 117 countries where the SDG indicator can be calculated, on average, a country has 59 per cent of its transboundary basin area covered by operational arrangements. This figure has not changed significantly since 2017 and 2020. A significant portion of transboundary basin area therefore remains uncovered by cooperative arrangements.

Explore the latest data on indicator 6.5.2, by country, region and for the whole world.

Full Report

Progress Report on Transboundary Water Cooperation, English